CBS This Morning unveils its new look as Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil join Gayle King and the third-place show takes aim at Today and Good Morning America in the ratings race

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It is a new day at CBS This Morning, which on Monday debuted not just its new lineup of hosts and correspondents but also a new look. 

The program kicked off with Gayle King and her new co-hosts Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil standing beside a large screen showing the morning show's new social media hashtag, #CTM.

There were also new fonts and graphics used throughout the show which were more in line with other morning shows as opposed to the program's previous look, which was similar to an evening news program. 

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Three's company: Gayle King and her new co-hosts Anthony Mason (left) and Tony Dokoupil (right) welcomed viewers to the revamped CBS This Morning on Monday

Squad: Network heavy hitters Jericka Duncan, David Begnaud, Anna Werner and Vladimir Duthiers have all been added as corespondents (l to r back row: Werner, Begnaud, Duncan and Duthiers)

No reason was given for the revamp, but it would seem that it was done in a bid to compete with the two dominant morning shows - Good Morning America on ABC and Today on NBC. 

CBS This Morning is currently a distant third int he ratings despite a number of headline-grabbing interviews of late, the most notable being King's sitdown with R Kelly. 

The most recent ratings from the week of May 6 put the show in a distant third in both total viewers and the key demo.  

Today topped the competition that week with 4,102,000 total viewers, narrowly defeating Good Morning America and its audience of 4,075,000 viewers.

CBS This Morning was well behind with 3,127,000 viewers

In the key demo of viewers between the ages of 25 and 54, Today with its 1,190,000 viewers actually fell just shy of champ Good Morning America with its 1,289,000 viewers.

CBS This Morning was again in the back of the pack with 775,000 viewers.

That was down 4 % in total viewers and 10 % in the key demo compared to one-year prior. 

'I'm excited for us. It's our game day,' said King at the top of the broadcast.

The group then shared a few jokes about the Game of Thrones finale before King said: 'I'm so excited, guys. I'm not even nervous. We know everybody at the table. We know everybody in the room.'

Mason added: 'We've met before'; Dokoupil joked: 'I recognize you from somewhere.'

The show also went heavy at the start in promoting its new hashtag, #CTM, which it began doing over the weekend.

This weekend also saw the program's social accounts running segments about the new hosts and introducing the team of correspondents who would be reporting for the morning show.

The four-person crew included network heavy hitters Jericka Duncan, David Begnaud, Anna Werner and Vladimir Duthiers.

Oprah and block font: In addition to King's new co-hosts, the show got a cosmetic overhaul that is more in line with other morning shows and less like a news program (the show's new look)

News: The morning show seems to be taking aim at Today and Good Morning America, who pull in a million more viewers every day on average (a look at CBS This Morning's graphic last week)

Light and bright: The show now has more blues and yellows and bold block font, as opposed to the previous look which was in line with CBS News' other programs, but the reporting is still more focused on breaking news than its competitors (above a report from Baghdad on Monday)

One thing the show did not change was the tone of its stories, continuing to opt for more serious fare ad breaking news coverage than its network rivals.

On Monday that meant a network crew reporting from Baghdad amid reports of increased tensions between the US and Iran, a look at a top-secret intelligence center operated by the NSA in Hawaii and an interview with the director Ava DuVernay about her new film When They See Us, which tells the story of the Central Park Five.

There was also an Oprah-related segment on the new show on the same day her best friend took over as lead anchor, with the hosts interviewing the principal of the Newark school where the TV icon made a $500,000 donation. 

The final segment of the show was also new.  

'Before we go at the end of the show each morning we'll share something to make your day a little lighter and a little brighter. We hope this made your day better and brighter. We want to talk about our beginning. One of our producers came in and said this is, income, the  1,927th episode, but it's our first,' said Mason. 

'We're part of a tradition but we're new. I like that.'

King then noted: 'I have to say I know this is day one. We have to get the show done and then continue. Yesterday I asked one of the producers, why am I not nervous. They said, you know everybody in the room, people got elevated. To me it's a seamless transition.'

The group then joked that they would be back to do it again tomorrow.